Questions

181. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether it is Government policy to phase out, regularise, or continue the use of unregulated special emergency arrangements by Tusla; the timeline for any legislative or regulatory change; and the reason such settings do not fall under the remit of the Health Information and Quality Authority, despite accommodating children in State ca…

190. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of complaints made directly by children to Tusla in each of the past five years; the categories of complaints received; the process available to children to make a complaint; and whether any element of that process is independent of Tusla management structures. [29222/26]

192. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of allegations or reports of abuse made by or on behalf of children while in the care of Tusla in each of the past five years, broken down by placement type; the channels through which such reports are made; and whether children in State care have access to an independent body outside Tusla to report abuse or safeguarding co…

193. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of unregulated special emergency arrangements used by Tusla to accommodate children in its care; the number of children currently placed in such arrangements; the duration of placement in each case; and whether the Minister will outline why children continue to be placed in settings that are not subject to statutory regulati…

206. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the number of Tusla staff who resigned, retired, or otherwise left employment, broken down by grade, for each year from 2020 to 2025 inclusive, in tabular form; the reasons recorded for their departure; and whether she has assessed the impact of staff churn on child protection and care outcomes; and if she will make a statem…

702. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 2562 14 April 2026, if one letter could issue to foster carers to cover such travel while a child is in their care, rather than having to seek a letter for travel to the North of Ireland every time, noting that foster carers living near the border do not require such a letter to travel north and t…

314. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any independent or externally commissioned value-for-money review has been conducted on the use of private providers for residential childcare placements funded by Tusla since 2020; if so, to provide the dates, authors, scope and key findings of each review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27504/26]

316. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the outcome measures used at Departmental level to assess the effectiveness of privately delivered residential childcare placements funded by Tusla; whether such outcome measures are formally linked to funding allocations or contract renewals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27506/26]

317. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department requires Tusla to assess the underlying cost structures, including profit margins, of private providers of residential childcare placements as part of value-for-money considerations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27507/26]

318. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether any internal audit, external audit, or examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General has been carried out on the cost-effectiveness or value-for-money of private childcare placements funded by Tusla since 2020; if so, to provide details and findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27508/26]

319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of private providers contracted to deliver residential childcare placements funded by Tusla; the proportion of total placements accounted for by the five largest providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27509/26]

320. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the policy basis on which pricing for private residential childcare placements is set by Tusla, including whether pricing is benchmarked against international comparators or independently validated cost models; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27510/26]

321. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total additional Exchequer funding approved to support increases in rates paid to private providers of residential childcare and foster care placements in each of the years 2023 to 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27511/26]

322. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has considered publishing summary value-for-money assessments or aggregated cost data relating to private childcare placements funded by Tusla, in the interest of transparency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27512/26]

328. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason the director of special care in Tusla has been removed from their post, the grounds for this removal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27675/26]

2520. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of service level agreements that Tusla has ended with family resource centres and similar organisations; the number of redundancies arising from these decisions as part of its reform programme; and the plans in place in each case to either continue the services previously provided (such as therapy) in an alternative form, or …

2528. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if a multi-agency approach involving Tusla, a school and the Garda Youth Diversion Programme could assist a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25887/26]

2562. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason a letter to travel is required in respect of children in State care by Tusla; the reason there is not the same right for all children in care or not to travel the island of Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26525/26]

411. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the current levels of staffing within Tusla; the current number of vacant positions; the total target workforce; and details of any estimate as to required staffing level by the Courts Services. [23234/26]

814. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the reason Tusla is withdrawing a specialist service in Waterford/Wexford (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21700/26]

416. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total annual expenditure by Tusla on placements purchased from privately operated children’s residential centres in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024; the total expenditure on all residential care placements in those years; and the percentage share represented by private placements in each year, in tabular form. [2124…

417. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has conducted any analysis of the cost differential between privately operated residential placements and placements within Tusla-operated centres; and if she will provide the average weekly cost per placement under each model. [21241/26]

418. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether Tusla has set any strategic target to reduce reliance on privately operated children’s residential placements, given that approximately 73% of placements were provided by private operators in 2024. [21242/26]

419. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has engaged with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General regarding the expenditure incurred on privately operated children’s residential care placements; whether the Comptroller and Auditor General has examined or intends to examine the governance, procurement arrangements or value-for-money co…

420. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department, or Tusla, has conducted any value-for-money or cost-effectiveness analysis comparing privately operated residential care placements with placements within Tusla-operated residential centres; and whether any such analysis has been provided to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. [21244/26]